So it would seem that my update time will be about once a week. I wish it could be sooner, but that's the amount of time I need. The story has a base structure in my head, but it takes a while to work out the details.

Sorry if there are some FF facts or details that I might have gotten wrong; again, I've only seen a playthrough of the game, and I've never watched the movie (have seen the anime though, super awesome).

Big thank you to all who read and support my story! You keep my creativity alive!

Swearing, and violence. Enjoy!

Not even realizing she had fallen asleep, Dawn was woken up by a large hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently.

"Dawn? Hey, wake up. We're here." It was Gladio. Apparently they had just arrived at the place where they would find the nasty beasts.

"Uggh?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes; last night took a toll on her sleep schedule...

Prompto's voice rang in her ears. "Oh yeah...time to kick some butt! I'll make sure to get some sweet shots."

As everyone exited the Regalia, a warm breeze picked up. Dust and tumbleweed skirted across the sandy landscape. Dawn wondered to herself how the beasts could possibly stand this kind of enviornment...there's no water, barely any shade, and not really any place to take shelter. "This world sure is strange..." She thought.

The targeted beasts were once again those skinny things with the tusks. There were more than last time: probably around 7 of them, all huddled in a group. Where they were going and what exactly they were doing, no one knew for sure.

It was time for some payback all right.

Dawn and the gang readied their weapons. Since Dawn couldn't let anyone know that she was a fairy, her fire magic was out of the picture. Instead, her training was spent with a sword she had found while exploring. A sword that was similar to the Prince's, but a little bigger. She wasn't quite used to it yet, but she could certainly do some damage with it.

Noctis's voice broke her thoughts. "So, any plans, Ignis?" His voice was a little more serious than usual, but still had a smug undertone. Ignis responded with the flash of his handy daggers.

"Keep on your toes. These beasts are quick and will not hesistate to pin you down. Remember when we found Miss Spectrum?"

Upon hearing this, Dawn gave him a quick glare. His eyes met with hers for a brief moment, and his face already started to droop in immediate regret. Thankfully, no one pursuited the subject further, saving Dawn even more embarassment.

"Got it." Was all the dark-haired Prince said. He and Gladio took to the front, while Ignis, Dawn, and Prompto hung in the back; their footsteps crunching on the sand and rocks.

The beasts, one by one, started noticing the approaching threat. Quiet growls filled the air, skinny heads lifted up from the ground.

When it looked like they were ready to charge, Noctis performed a devestating warp-strike on the closest beast. It howled in pain as it was knocked to the ground. Gladiolus was second to respond; his gigantic greatsword slamming into another beast.

Dawn charged into the fray; her sword meeting flesh as two of them charged at her. The tusks kind of got in the way, but the sound of whining told her that the attack was a success.

Ignis and Prompto were working together: The blonde got the attention of the beasts with his firearm while the brunette swung in while they were off guard. However, there was one problem: The brunette wasn't completely focused. The glare he recieved from Dawn stuck out in his mind...haunting him. Her green eyes seared a hole into him. Ignis was doing his absolute best to keep his mind on the battle, but there were times where those green eyes flashed in his mind again...

"Iggy! Watch out!" Prompto yelled, followed by another 'pow' of his gun. Ignis turned around after slashing the beast in front of him. The creature behind him was already sqirming on the ground, a gunshot wound in it's side.

A faint blush of embarrassment creeped into the brunette's cheeks. He let his guard down. "Excellent work!" He yelled back at the blonde.

Ignis didn't even wait for a response as he charged at the beast he previously attacked, finishing it off with a hearty slash of his dagger.

Dawn hacked and slashed at the approaching creatures with everything she had. Every swing seemed to cut the very air in two, followed by a huge 'swoosh' of her blade. She wasn't doing this because she wanted to show off, or even finish the battle quickly...she was doing this because she was angry. Angry at Ignis. Not only did he make things awkward last night, he also had to go and remind everyone of how she got pinned to the ground like a weakling the first day they had met.

"I'll show him..." She fumed. "I trust him with treating my wounds while my damn shirts off, and he does this? Bastard..." Another 'swoosh' of the blade, and another creature was down for the count, feeling the full force of her wrath. For a split second, she could have sworn Ignis was looking at her.

Noctis was the last one to finish. His sword cut the beast down in one final swoop, it's body going limp in an instant. He gave a long sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Man, I'm exausted. Glad it's finally over with." No one else openly complained, but it was obvious that they were worn as well. Dirt and scratches covered their clothes, hair matted and messy, sweat easily seen.

"Guess it's time for some camping out." Said Gladiolus as he hopelessly tried to pat the dirt off of his pants. "There's a haven nearby."

"Aw man...was really hoping for a bed this time. Oh well..." Prompto chimed in with a disappointed sigh. He then turned to Dawn. "How are ya' holdin' up, Dawn?"

A little surprised by the question, the redhead turned to him. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Comon', let's get to the haven already." With that, she turned around and started walking towards the haven in a brisk pace.

The blonde's face dropped a little. "Y-yeah. Let's go..."

The others follwed her to the haven, each one feeling something different about the situation.

Later that night, Dawn sat outside again. Her anger died down somewhat, but she still needed time alone. At least, away from Ignis.

Green eyes fixated on the stars twinkling above, long red hair moving with the breeze. She took a deep breath of the open air; thoughts returned to the night before.

"...you are beautiful to me."

As if on cue, she heard the tent flap open followed by feet hitting the ground. "Great...just what I needed." Thought Dawn with a sigh.

"Dawn? Sorry to bother you, but-"

"Go away, Ignis."

The brunette froze in his tracks. He felt hurt by the sudden rejection, but he was determined to speak his mind. "Can't I talk to you? Just for a minute?"

"No. There's nothing to talk about." She could feel her anger rising again, like someone turning up the heat on a stove.

"Of course there is. I know you're upset with me, and I at least deserve a chance to explain."

The redhead responded with an annoyed tone. "I don't see why, but go ahead."

Ignis approached next to her, sat down on the craggy rock, and looked into her eyes. "Listen, I know what I said last night and this afternoon upset you, but I want you to know that I have no ill intentions."

Dawn rolled her eyes in response. "Sure you don't. Like when you mocked me in front of everyone back there? No 'ill intentions' whatsoever."

"I didn't mean to mock you. I was only saying that to warn the others of the Sabertusks' potential threat...but..." He paused, recalling the glare he recieved hours ago. "I should not have said it. It was a rude thing to say, and I didn't think when speaking. I am sorry."

"You are, huh?"

"Yes, I am. Please believe me."

She then turned to look back at him. His face showed concern and worry. "Well...okay. I believe you." Seeing this face just had some effect on her: it was pretty clear that he really was sorry and wanted to be forgiven, as well as he didn't mean to upset her in any way. The anger was finally fading as he spoke again, brunette hair swaying in the wind.

"Thank you. I was worried that you would stay mad at me." He broke eye contact and instead faced the bright moon. Dawn copied him, her legs dangling over the rocky slope. Her mind ran over what just happened.

All he had to do was look at her with that face, and her anger that she thought couldn't be eased just...ceased to be. She couldn't understand for the life of her why she was so soft like this...Prompto had some sort of look on his face also, she remembered, and that time was no different: she just could not say no. "Is this...some type of weakness?" the redhead thought to herself. "Is this thing gonna end up controlling me?"

Ignis spoke up after a minute, interrupting her thoughts. "There's also the...incident last night." He spoke as if he were trying to cross a minefield.

Dawn's hands began to mess with the edge of her shirt. "...What about it?" She said.

"You left so quickly after I...called you beautiful." The moon reflected off of his glasses as he again pushed them up in habit. "It obviously upset you."

She didn't really know what to say. The answer in itself was somewhat complicated in truth, her response to last night was more of an involuntary one. "Ignis...I..."

The pause brought his eyes back to her. "Yes?" He said.

"It's...hard to explain, but since you explained yourself, I suppose it's fair that I would too. You see...remember when we first met, when you treated my wounds?"

"Of course I do."

"Well...back then, I trusted you in the sense that you wouldn't...ya' know...peek or something." Her pale cheeks began to turn pink. "Then when you said what you did last night, it was like...I thought you were saying it based off of what you saw that day. Like, you actually peeked at me."

Now his cheeks were also turning pink, eyes growing wide. "Oh! No, absolutely not! I promise, that isn't why I said that."

Dawn nodded. "That's good...but also, it...surprised me, ya' know? All my life, I don't remember anyone ever calling me beautiful. So when you said it to me, it startled me a little."

"Why would it startle you?"

It was happening again; her mouth was faster than her mind, and she ended up saying things that weren't even fully processed yet. "I don't want you to think that I'm something I'm not. I'm not beautiful, Ignis."

His eyebrows crinkled slightly, lips tilted downward into a small frown. "Dawn...you are beautiful. It doesn't make sense that you don't want me to believe that you are."

"Then tell me: if I really am beautiful as you say, why has everyone always told me otherwise? If I really was beautiful, they would treat me as such. I would have been told long ago...but it never happened."

Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her skin jolted to life, her body startled by the contact, but she gave no resistance.

"Beauty is not determined what the majority believes, Dawn. Everyone is beautiful, no matter what multiple people might believe. The people you mentioned: they are all blind. Their hearts and minds are closed off. However, just because they don't see you as beautiful doesn't mean you aren't."

His tone of voice was so calm and gentle, just like last night...just like that moment in the trailer, taking care of her. She wanted to hear it over and over again; it made her feel like everything was alright...like nothing in the world was wrong. He truly sees her as beautiful, and that made Dawn feel something...something amazing.

"Thank you...Ignis." She said quietly. Part of her mind scolded her again for speaking to him about that kind of stuff, but she ignored it. This moment was something she wanted to cherish.

"My pleasure." After realizing his hand was on her shoulder for a little too long, he quickly retracted it with a cough. "So...are we on agreeable terms again?"

Dawn gave a small chuckle at his usual fancy word choice. "Yeah, we're cool."

"What a relief. I say we should head to bed now, wouldn't you say?" He rose from his spot next to her, ready to crash for the night. The redhead followed suit.

"Sure. I am pretty tired." The duo returned to their respective tents: Ignis slept with the others while Dawn got the extra tent to herself. They exchanged one last look at each other before disappearing into shelter.

"Good night, Miss Spectrum."

Dawn quietly scoffed at his habit of being so formal, even over her damn name. "Night, Iggy." She responded. The redhead concluded that if he got to call her by her last name like that, she was allowed to use his casual nickname like the others did. Seemed fair.

She didn't know if she was that tired or what, but as the brunette slipped into the tent, she could have sworn he was smiling.

Tonight was a good night, only...there was one thing Dawn never told Ignis. Part of the reason that she pushed him away like she did was because of...

The vision.

She still wasn't quite convinced that the vision was real, but...what if it was? Back then, she never believed she would ever end up in the land of men, and yet...here she was. Her feelings about her home also lined up with what was seen...she turned her back on Titania. All she ever found there was pain and a constant struggle to find a reason to be alive...why she should keep breathing...so why should she care what happens to it?

Dawn didn't want to be a puppet to fate however; she wanted to choose her own path...one that some old guy didn't have a say in, or her mother, or...anyone for that matter. All she wanted to do was find happiness in her life. All she wanted was...friends...a family. Of course, you couldn't tell this just by looking at her, but this was how she felt deep inside. If Titania were to burn, she wanted it to be her choice and her choice alone.

If Ignis was the one to get close to her, it would mean trouble...for the both of them. Not only does Dawn not want the vision to be fulfilled (if it really were true), but she also didn't want him to die...

Panic rose in the redhead's heart as she layed in her sleeping bag. Tonight proved that they were getting closer...and that means she was getting closer to the vision.

She was getting closer to killing him.

Oh boy, things are getting a little intense. Let me know what you think!